Narcissism, Intrinsic and Extrinsic Romantic Ideals, and Relationship Satisfaction Gwendolyn Seidman Albright College Sample and Procedure 206 Ps completed an online survey. Sample Characteristics: 79% female 79% undergraduates Age: M = 23.33, SD = 9.31 For the 143 romantically involved Ps, average relationship length was 5.63 years (SD = 9.69). Narcissism as a Personality Trait Narcissism, originally conceptualized as a clinical disorder, characterized by an inflated, grandiose self- concept (APA, 2013), has been applied to non-clinical populations (Raskin & Hall, 1979). Narcissism is multi-faceted, consisting of Leadership/ Authority (which is generally adaptive), Grandiose Exhibitionism, and Entitlement/Exploitativeness (Ackerman et al., 2011). Narcissism & Partner Preferences According to the Agency Model of narcissism, narcissists adopt a self-regulatory style to maintain inflated self-views, and behavior in romantic relationships is one aspect of this general self-regulatory style (Brunell & Campbell, 2011; Campbell et al., 2006). Narcissists have an agentic, rather than communal value system (Campbell et al., 2002). Narcissists prefer “positive” rather than “caring” traits in romantic partners (Campbell, 1999). Ideal Standards Model According to the ideal standards model, the closer one’s actual relationship is to one’s ideal standards, the more positively one views that relationship (Campbell et al., 2001; Fletcher et al, 2000a). Rodriguez and colleagues (2015) classified relationship domains into intrinsic (warmth/ loyalty) and extrinsic (vitality/status/passion) qualities. Relationship quality is better predicted by having a partner/relationship that meets intrinsic than extrinsic ideals (Rodriguez et al., 2015). Measures Narcissistic Personality Inventory (Raskin & Hall, 1979) Ideal Standards Questionnaire (Fletcher et al., 1999). All Ps rated their ideal partner and relationship on 7-point Likert scales in 5 domains: Intrinsic domains: Intimacy/loyalty (e.g., commitment, respect) Warmth/trustworthiness (e.g., kind, honest) Extrinsic domains: Vitality/attractiveness (e.g., outgoing, sexy) Status/resources (e.g., successful, good job) Passion (e.g., exciting, fun) Romantically involved Ps also rated their current partner/relationship on these 5 domains. Perceived Relationship Quality Components inventory (Fletcher, Simpson, & Thomas, 2000b) assessed six components of relationship quality: Satisfaction, commitment, intimacy, trust, passion, and love. Conclusions As predicted, narcissism was associated with extrinsic ideal relationship preferences. For non-narcissists, the extent to which relationships met intrinsic ideals, but not extrinsic ideals, was positively associated with relationship quality, as their relationships are used primarily to satisfy communal goals. Relationships meeting extrinsic ideals were more satisfying for narcissists, but not non-narcissists, consistent with the Agency Model of narcissism. The effect for extrinsic traits was driven by Entitlement/Exploitativeness and Grandiose Exhibitionism, and the effect for intrinsic traits was driven by Entitlement/Exploitativeness. Hypotheses Hypothesis 1: Narcissism will be positively associated with extrinsic ideals, and negatively associated with intrinsic ideals. Hypothesis 2: The extent to which current partners meet intrinsic ideals will be positively associated with relationship quality, especially for non-narcissists. Hypothesis 3: The extent to which relationships meet extrinsic ideals will be positively associated with relationship quality for those high, but not low, in narcissism. Hypothesis 4: For narcissists, the extent to which relationships meet extrinsic ideals will better predict satisfaction than the extent to which they meet intrinsic ideals. Hypothesis 5: These effects will be driven by Grandiose Exhibitionism and Entitlement/Exploitativeness, but not Leadership/Authority. Results Method Correlations: Narcissism and Ideal Standards Relationship Quality Data Analysis Correlations were computed between NPI scores and ideal ratings, as were partial correlations controlling for the other ideals (N=206). Multiple regression analysis was conducted with relationship quality as the criterion variable (N=143). Predictors: Actual and ideal ratings, NPI score, interactions between narcissism and actual partner/relationship ratings. ▫ The model controlled for gender and relationship length. Continuous variables were mean-centered. In an additional multiple regression model, each facet of narcissism was used as a separate predictor. IdealsrPartial r Extrinsic.290***.369*** Vitality/attractiveness.333***.293*** Status/resources.127 † Passion.246***-.081 Intrinsic *** Warmth/trustworthiness * Intimacy/loyalty Predictor (R 2 =.668***)B (SE) Narcissism (0.007) † Ideal intrinsic (0.130) Ideal extrinsic (0.136) Actual intrinsic (0.133)*** Actual extrinsic (0.140) † Narcissism X Actual intrinsic (0.017)** Narcissism X Actual extrinsic0.055 (0.018)** *** p <.001, ** p <.01, † p <.10 Predictor (R 2 =.687***)B (SE) Leadership/Authority (LA) (0.019) ** LA X Actual intrinsic (0.043) LA X Actual extrinsic (0.044) Entitlement/Exploitativeness (EE) (0.052) EE X Actual intrinsic (0.120)* EE X Actual extrinsic (0.117)* Grandiose Exhibitionism (GE) (0.023) GE X Actual intrinsic (0.058) GE X Actual extrinsic0.153 (0.065)* For a copy of the paper (forthcoming in Journal of Social and Personal Relationships) or download the online first version at